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Pope
Francis
Full
text
Summary |
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158.
Paul VI said that “the faithful… expect
much from preaching, and will greatly benefit from it, provided that it
is simple, clear, direct, well-adapted”.
Simplicity has to do with the language we use. It
must be one that people understand, lest we risk speaking to a void.
Preachers often use words learned during their studies and in
specialized settings which are not part of the ordinary language of
their hearers. These are words that are suitable in theology or
catechesis, but whose meaning is incomprehensible to the majority of
Christians.
The greatest risk for a preacher is that he
becomes so accustomed to his own language that he thinks that everyone
else naturally understands and uses it. If we
wish to adapt to people’s language and to reach them with God’s
word, we need to share in their lives and pay loving attention to
them.
Simplicity and clarity are
two different things. Our language may be simple but our
preaching not very clear. It can end up being
incomprehensible because it is disorganized, lacks logical progression
or tries to deal with too many things at one time. We need to
ensure, then, that the homily has thematic unity, clear order and
correlation between sentences, so that people can follow the preacher
easily and grasp his line of argument.
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Sun: Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia
Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific Frid:
South America
Sat:
Central & North America
Please join me
in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless the people of South
America
On this 9th
of the month, Jesus
please bless the
prisoners of Henan
Please join me in praying for
prisoners in one part of China each day of the month |
